Ventures'n'Law's journey from Excel hassle to real-time financial clarity

At ThinkOut, understanding our clients' needs is at the heart of everything we do. From the very first interaction, we strive to grasp their challenges, their goals, and how we can help them thrive. This curiosity fuels our approach long before discovery calls or onboarding sessions begin. Some clients rely on ThinkOut for day-to-day financial tracking, others for budgeting and comparing targets against outcomes. And then there are clients like Ventures'n'Law, who seek automation and effective planning that offer clarity and control.

Our journey with Tudor began years ago, from the early days of ThinkOut when his legal expertise was instrumental, to the present day. It’s a testament to the strength of our partnership that we’ve evolved together, from collaborating on legal matters to now supporting his business growth through our financial management solutions. For us, it is truly fulfilling to see how far we’ve come, and we're excited to continue this journey together.

Founded in 2017, Ventures'n'Law began as a network of freelancers supporting startups with legal advice. Today, Ventures'n'Law is a dynamic duo of lawyers working with tech companies, providing specialized legal support. Over time, they discovered that their success hinged on legal expertise and efficient financial management. We spoke with Tudor Stanciu, the founder of Ventures'n'Law, to learn more about their approach to financial management.

The challenge: a need for financial predictability

Knowing what lies ahead financially is essential for all businesses, regardless of industry. Effective planning leads to better management of available resources, and in a small business, it is even more important, as ensuring long-term stability is a goal in itself.

"Initially, we had an Excel spreadsheet where we tracked the structure of projects by income and expense categories, but we started to face a lack of predictability. We didn't have a clear picture of what would happen financially – income was difficult to estimate, and expenses always seemed to surprise us. Until we started budgeting certain operations and thinking about cash flow, we couldn't plan beyond the end of the month." says Tudor, founder of Ventures'n'Law.

Over time, as their network began to grow, they realized that they needed a clear vision of their cash flow. Until then, they managed everything manually, but this way of working was becoming increasingly cumbersome and time-consuming. "We were never a big firm, but the need to keep track of income and expenses in an automated way became evident as the business grew."

The solution: simplification with ThinkOut

A simple yet efficient solution that requires little effort to use and provides real-time visibility into expenses and the ability to make financial predictions, this is what Tudor was looking for.

After testing other solutions, ThinkOut was the natural choice. "We were already working together on legal consulting for some time when we realized that ThinkOut could give us exactly what we needed: real-time visibility into expenses and the ability to make financial forecasts. It was the solution we were missing and it was right at our fingertips."

Tudor feels that ThinkOut has given them clarity and control over their expenses and income, allowing them to forecast each expense category correctly and plan their activities better. "One of the things we appreciated most was the ease of use. We started using it and realized we could save valuable time."

In addition to the automatic import of bank transactions, expenses are now organized more efficiently, being separated into annual and monthly payments. Tudor reviews them quarterly based on the predictions in ThinkOut and makes the necessary adjustments, having strict control over expense categories and trying to optimize costs.

For example, it is now much easier for him to monitor the expenses they have with various digital solutions and other subscriptions, and to identify services they no longer need much faster.

The results: more effective financial management

The results were not long in coming. We asked Tudor when had he begun to notice improvements in cash flow management. "We probably save a few hours a month - honestly, we don't even know what things were like before. It seems like we've been using ThinkOut forever."

Now they have set up cash flow forecasts and monitor recurring income and payments, having the assurance that their business remains on the right track. "We look at expenses and then forecast them, which gives us an overview of the income we need to have to be comfortable with what we're doing." says Tudor.

Getting down to the basics and real-time predictions

For Ventures'n'Law, ThinkOut has become a trusted partner in financial management. "Simplification - that's the word that comes to mind when I think of ThinkOut", says Tudor, as it has given them the freedom to focus their efforts on growth and development, without being overwhelmed by the complexity of manual data management.

To wrap up, we asked Tudor what advice he would give to other entrepreneurs striving to gain better control over their finances. With a laugh, his response was short, direct, and packed with insight: "Give up Excel!"